


Modern Day Cain

by orphan_account



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Angst, Cheryl Blossom & Betty Cooper Friendship, Eventual Romance, F/F, Fluff, Jughead Jones & Toni Topaz Friendship, Lovers to Enemies to Lovers Again, Slow Burn, but who knows, detective cheryl blossom, journalist toni topaz, smut? idk her
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-20
Updated: 2020-03-20
Packaged: 2021-03-01 02:48:23
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,511
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23237953
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Antoinette "Toni" Topaz is a journalist, born and raised in Riverdale, state of Georgia, who left the city and moved to New York after finishing high school. After receiving a call warning her about the murder of one of her best friends, Jughead Jones, and that the only clue is a poem left for her, Toni is forced to return to Riverdale and solve the tragic crime alongside an old acquaintance: Detective Cheryl Blossom, her ex-girlfriend.
Relationships: Cheryl Blossom & Toni Topaz, Cheryl Blossom/Toni Topaz
Comments: 3
Kudos: 15





	Modern Day Cain

**Author's Note:**

> oh, well, hi... i guess.  
> not my first fanfic, but the first one that is gonna be taken seriously and also the first one in english.  
> that being said, i'm sorry for any mistakes, english is not my mother language, and even though my english is kinda decent, i have to count with the translator too. 
> 
> also, this one is gonna be jughead-centric and there will be only crumbs of toni at the end, just like only mentions of cheryl. but by the next chapter everything is gonna be back to normal.
> 
> last but not least, enjoy!

**It was on the night of June 3** that Jughead Jones passed through the doors of Pop's Chock'lit Shoppe for the very last time. Years had passed since high school graduation, but Jughead still had the same choice of clothes as always: a black shirt with the Serpents gang logo, a blue denim jacket and his infamous beanie. His newly purchased computer rested inside the leather bag he carried across his body. 

Some things have changed, however: Now, he was famous. After all the Stonewall prep fiasco, he finally managed to publish his first book, which was a sequel of the Baxter Brothers saga, started by his grandfather, and the story marked not only the Baxters' return, but also the beginning of his writing career. He won prizes, wrote more books and also several poems and short stories.

But just like his wardrobe, certain things have remained the same. Just like, for example, his addiction to espresso – specifically – and hamburgers. 

"Good morning, Mr. Jones." A waitress approached. Notebook in hand and a smile on her face. "The usual?"

He made a thoughtful face: 

"And a little more!" He replied. "Add a chocolate milkshake and a portion of french fries, please." 

"Good choice!" She said, while taking his order. "The coffee will be here less than five minutes, but the rest will take a little while."

"Alright." The waitress walked away. 

Jughead sat in one of the comfortable seats at the establishment, opening his bag to retrieve his computer and placing it carefully on the table. The boy looked at the counter, seeing the nice girl with a cup in her hand about to bring his coffee, and his eyes followed each movement.

"Here it is!" She said excitedly, placing the cup of coffee on the table. "The rest will be here shortly." 

"Thanks!" He smirked at her, holding the handle of the cup and taking a sip. "Very good!"

"Thanks." She said timidly and left. 

While drinking his coffee, Jughead looked at the window beside him, admiring the landscape - or the parking lot - on the other side. And he started to reflect on how most of the things around him changed. Despite having a stable career, he was one of the only ones who remained in Riverdale, along with Cheryl Blossom and Betty Cooper. Even Archie Andrews was gone. After repeating the last year of high school, Archie got a scholarship to study music in California and with some friends he started some band called The Rumble Fish. It wasn't like The Archies, it was a real one. The band became famous and Archie even had a fling with Josie McCoy – who was also very famous – after the two were invited by Kevin Keller, who was now a Broadway director, to star in a musical. 

Turning to the counter, Jughead smiled as he remembered Pop. He had died of old age long ago, and although the new employees worked hard, he couldn't help but miss the old man who for so many years served him this same coffee, this same hamburger and let him sleep on the same armchair he's sitting right now, when he didn't even have a place to go. 

_"Here, Pop!" A 16-year-old Jughead sat on the bench in front of the counter, holding out 10 dollars to the man in front of him._

_"Can I know why there's more than 8 dollars here?" Pop looked at the boy._

_"For letting me spend the night here, silly!" Jughead replied as if it were obvious._

_"Therefore, I do not accept." He replied, handing back the $2 to Jughead._

_"But..."_

_"No 'but'." Pop put a hand on Jughead's shoulder. "Boy, letting you sleep here is not a service offered by Pop's. It's not even on the menu, silly!" Jughead laughed. "So you don't have to pay me anything." He squeezed the boy's shoulder slightly. "Whenever things are complicated with your father, know that this is your home and I will accept you with open arms._

_"Thanks, Pop." Jughead smiled at him emotionally._

_And despite all the problems. Although his father is an addict who is aggressive with him and makes it impossible to stay at home. Despite everything, Jughead, that morning, leaves Pop's straight to Riverdale High with a big smile on his face and 2 dollars in his pocket._

"Mr Jones?" The waitress' voice brings him back. "Your order."

"Oh, t-thank you..." He chokes, coughing a little. 

The waitress walks away again and Jughead laughs a little, thinking he is a fool for being emotional like that. He throws a napkin in the trash and finally turns on his computer, taking a bite of his hamburger and a sip of his milkshake, while waiting for the startup to complete. 

Jughead had a month and a half to deliver the last book of the Baxter Brothers saga, but he still haven't finish. Sure, he was halfway through the book, but the mystery wasn't there yet, and that was because he had several ideas, but none were good enough for him. It was the last book of one of the most famous sagas of all time, and he didn't want the last book, the one that would seal the whole story of years, to be bad – just like the last two Selection books, which Betty forced him to read in high school.

He was always a creative guy, since he was little. In preschool, he used to write his own mystery tales after watching an episode of Scooby-Doo and always showed the teacher at class, where she smiled and said "Congratulations, little Poe!". 

Well, little Jug didn't know who this _Poe_ guy was. 

Years later he found out though, it was a birthday gift given by Archie: "The Masque of the Red Death and other tales", by Edgar Allan _Poe_. He became his favorite author. 

Opening the text file on his computer, Jughead jumped to another blank page, looking to the future and what, hopefully, would become the biggest and best Baxter Brothers' book, and of his own career. 

♧

Jughead sighed, thankful that he was done. Although a little unsure of where the story would go, he was proud, above all. He took the last sip of his milkshake, which was all melted, and stuck the rest of the fries inside his mouth. He put the computer in the bag, resting the strap on his shoulder, and got up from his seat, going towards the cashier, already looking for the 8 dollars he was carrying inside his denim jacket.

"An espresso, a chocolate milkshake, a hamburger and a portion of fries. Correct?" Another waitress asked.

"Right." He nodded. 

"Thank you, sir." Jughead gave her a half smile and left the establishment, hearing the bell, on what would be the last time. 

♧ 

Walking through the streets of Riverdale, the boy observed some of the new residents talking on the sidewalks, which left him somewhat relieved, because a few years ago, such an attitude would be considered the same thing as suicide. He knows that the city will not be like this forever, but for now tranquility is all that matters. 

Entering his apartment, the first thing Jughead noticed was that lights were on and a record playing on the vinyl. 

_"Oh, darling_  
_Please, believe me_  
_I'll never do you no harm"_

" _Believe me when I tell you_ " A voice approached. " _I'll never do you... no harm._ " 

Jughead's entire body froze. His entire vocabulary ran out of his mind and nothing else was left besides the image of the person right in front of him. 

"Y-You..." he managed to pronounce. 

"Hello, Jug."

♧

Toni was exhausted. 

She had spent the entire afternoon covering a car accident near McDonalds, having to write an article to be published in the newspaper tomorrow. She had finally finished it about 2 hours ago and used all that time to restore her energies sleeping. And she would spend the rest of the night doing the same thing if that _fucking_ phone stopped ringing. 

Toni grunted, picking up the phone and accepting the call, without looking at who had called:

"What do you want?" She asked, angrily.

"Toni..." It took a while before she finally recognized Betty Cooper's voice, but there was something different. It looked like she was... _crying_? 

"Betty? Are you okay? Did something happen?" That was enough for Toni's brain to wake up immediately.

"It's Jughead." She managed to say through sobs. "He... _Fuck_! He **died**."

The phone slid from her ear to the bed, and for a few minutes Toni remained that way, standing still, in shock, as tears pooled in her eyes. She only regained consciousness when she heard Betty's voice calling her repeatedly. 

She picked up the phone again, bringing it to her ear: 

"Sorry, I... I think I got lost for a few minutes. It-It was the shock..." She wiped the tears away with her hands.

"Toni, he..." Betty sighed. "There was this paper next to... his body... with your name in it. Toni, I think you'll have to come back to Riverdale.


End file.
